Crazy Design Week Contemporary Art in Jerusalem

Spring in Jerusalem, Israel.

It is hot, then it is cold.

Yesterday it rained.

You never know what will happen next.

During Jerusalem Design Week

you have no idea what you will see next.

When I have the opportunity I love to see what is new

Hansen House at night Jerusalem Design Week festival outside gardens lit

at the old Hansen House.

The opening event for Design Week

 held in the courtyard,

Kugel Party Hansen House Design Week opening event

was called a Kugel Party.

At first, even the guests had trouble figuring that out.

There were pink signs in Yiddish,

Yerushalmi kugel at Hansen House for Design week opening event

burnt Yerushalmi kugel with a pickle,

Kugel Party Jerusalem design week

an Oriental noodle sent upstairs to the second floor

people waiting for noodles at Hansen House Kugel Party Design Week opening

in glass jars with a pulley system.

The third kind of kugel was a Belgian waffle,

the one with longest line,

Waffles at Hansen House for Jerusalem Design Week Kugel Party

not fast food, but slowly crafted by Bezalel artists.

Inside were a variety of exhibits,

design week at Hansen House chemistry Jerusalem

this one brought back memories of hours titrating in a lab,

with a theme of yellow and blue for the men and women of Jerusalem.

Contemporary art exhibits using the media of

light Jerusalem design week at Hansen house

photography, paint and light and shape and form,

displayed in different rooms inside the Hansen House.

gardens Hansen House at night for design week

Animals were outside in the garden,

with colors, shapes and forms.

I am sure Dr. Hansen would never have envisioned them.

Design Week is spread out in 7 locations.

A much more serious exhibit is at

Islamic Museum Jerusalem Sign from Iran

the LA Mayer Museum of Islamic Art.

Sign from Iran is a collection of

posters Sign from Iran at Museum for Islamic Art

60 art poster masterpieces

by 27 Iranian graphic artists

over a 40-year period.

Yossi Lemel at Islamic Art exhibit sign from Iran

Israeli graphic artist Yossi Lemel

who initiated the project was at the opening.

woman in Iran art

Contemporary Iran is not usually seen around here.

So many strange and unusual happenings this week,

Hansen House gardens at night with full moon and animal lit for Design week festival

maybe it was the full moon.

The only thing related to politics

 that I will mention

Eiffel Tower in Jerusalem for French PM

is an Eiffel Tower model constructed during the visit of

the French Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

I was going to photo shop out the man on the crane,

but then I realized that he was securing the tower

so that it would not fall down in the extremely high winds.

selfie at Hansen House night in garden

Just a bit from this week worthy of a selfie.

There is also a Book Festival, Russian Festival,

MusaraMix Seam Art Festival,

the annual Israel Festival

and my favorite, the Light Festival.

Tonight, starting as soon as the sun sets and going all night long

are the huge bonfires of Lag B’Omer

Spring festival season,

never know what you will see next happening

on the real Jerusalem, Israel streets.

11 Scenes of Erev Yom Kippur in Jerusalem

At the end of the Rosh Hashana holiday weekend,

some neighborhoods were piled high with garbage.

I will spare you those ugly photos this year

image holiday packaging

and only post this one of the holiday boxes, marked with dripping honey.

The city was prepared this time, no complaints about hauling it all away,

but plenty of complaints about time!

The usual change from Daylight Savings time before Yom Kippur

did not happen this year because of a new law in the Knesset,

so many woke up an hour off when their devices did not get that memo.

Some Apps are still off an hour,

image for Yom Kippur

but many of the buses did change to the Yom Kippur greeting,

to be sealed for a good year.

The change of seasons can be felt by the shorter days and cooler weather,

but days are still warm enough

image Arab woman

 to stroll down the street eating an ice cream cone.

On days leading up to Yom Kippur

image paroes before YOm Kipput

Chabad was out on the streets not only offering chance to put on tefilin,

but also to get a head start on Kaparot, using money,

instead of chickens to get rid of your sins.

image Pais Arena Jerusalem

The 11,000 seat new Jerusalem Payis Arena was filled

by those honoring the first  yahrzeit of Rav Ovadia Yosef.

image Jerusalem, Israel

The landscape in Jerusalem, Israel, is changing in all directions.

In time for the holiday tourist season,

image Hansen House

  the gates of the renovated old Hansen House are open.

image large sign in hebrew

For many locals the expansion of Hadar Mall in Talpiot

with a new supermarket opening was big news.

But this season, expansion and building features

image getting ready for holiday

 the walls of sukkot for the holiday next week,

image colorful decorations

with colorful decorations for sale.

image poster for Jerusalem Formula

And, next week is the Jerusalem Formula Road Show,

and if it is anything like last year

the Jerusalem, Israel streets will be filled with people and fast cars,

the opposite of Yom Kippur with no cars and people fasting.

Gmar chatima tova

may all be sealed for a good year.

Houses From Within

.

Houses from Within was not just open houses in Jerusalem,

 but the event also opened gates that are usually closed to the public.

One of the most popular of dozens of free tours was at the Hansen Hospital,

located on Marcus Street.

In the large, walled compound is a two-story structure built

by the Protestant community in 1887.

It became known as The Leper’s Home 

and was an asylum for up to 60 leprosy patients.

The once ‘luxury’ structure, it was built with a bridge

so patients could easily reach the toilets,

outhouses located on the right side of the main building.

The grounds had gardens and enough livestock  to be self sufficient.

One interior room is now on display.

While patients were always free to come and go,

the last patient left in 2000; the gates were sealed during the intifada.

Not far away in the German Colony,

the Houses from Within event included

 #41 Emek Refaim Street, the Alliance Church International Cemetery.

Thousands of people walk by each day,

but most have never seen the mural inside.

Next to it, is the Templer Cemetery which was established in 1878.

Located in one of the most popular parts of Jerusalem,

the vast size and beauty of these three hidden properties often goes unseen.

 But, there is one spot in Jerusalem that has become an international

 ‘must-be-seen’ venue.

Visitors are now bringing their own film crews to record their visits 

within the Shalit family tent.

 Hamas has refused to deliver a letter to Gilad Shalit 

through the International Red Cross. 

  With all that was going on this week,

there was one issue that united evreyone in Jerusalem,

it was not security, but

 the price of tomatoes!

From within every home, there was disbelief …

tomatoes cost more than chicken!